Anamnesis
by Smart Alex
Summary: Adjusting to life back on Destiny Islands may be hard, but even when things don't quite go as expected, there's no place like home. Post KH2, oneshot.


**Anamnesis  
**  
Kairi came to school one day holding hands with a new kid. He gave everyone huge smiles; even if he did look vaguely uncomfortable in the regulation shirt and tie. Kairi very reluctantly let him go when they reached the classroom, and maybe it was just her, but it kind of looked like she had highlighted her hair.

Because it did _not _just turn blonde.

-

"Hey, uh, you know girls aren't allowed to wear the guys' uniforms, right?" he said, and flinched when the tall figure in front of him whirled around.

Green eyes narrowing, Riku drew himself to his full height and folded his arms.

"Do I look like a girl to you?" he inquired, and glared.

-

The new kid was back, and finally she turned and snapped "What do you want?"

He grinned, looking goofier than ever and Selphie wondered once more what Kairi saw in him.

"Just wanted to say hi," he said.

She stared at him. "Okay. Hi."

"So whatcha doin', Selphie?" he asked, staring at her paper.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded, and promptly covered her paper, because there was no way in-well, anyway, no way some new guy was going to see just how awful she was at math.

He gave her a _look_. One of those meaningful looks. The kind she was no good at understanding. So she frowned at him, and he frowned back.

"Please tell me you're kidding," he said.

"No," she said, and gave up on him and went back to her math.

-

"Nuh-_uh_," Wakka said, and shook his head vigorously. "I remember Riku, I was like two inches taller than he was. You're not Riku."

Riku thought. He looked down at his folded arms, looked at the slightly shorter boy facing him, and decided that he was definitely still himself.

"Maybe in preschool," he allowed. "But I was always taller than you."

-

New kid was standing on his chair again, for the third class in a row. He finally managed to get the teacher's attention (and she had to admit, it was really weird how the teacher's gaze kept sliding right past him), and promptly launched into some lengthy explanation about how that unclaimed A+ homework on the blackboard really was his.

"It has my _name_ on it," he pointed out. The teacher looked puzzled, but eventually handed it over; and new kid sat back down on the chair and slumped over his desk, muttering, "It's only been a week, wouldn't they recognize me by now?"

At that, Selphie snorted, and looked innocent as possible when he turned to glare at her.

He really was a weirdo. She'd have remembered him if he's been at school all week.

Especially with some dumb name like Sora.

Honestly.

-

"Yeah right," said Wakka. "And Riku's hair wasn't halfway down his back, either."

"He means he's sorry for calling you a girl," Tidus said quickly, covering his friend's mouth. "And hey, welcome back, where'd you go again?"

Riku stared up at the sign above them, reading RESTROOM, and decided to refrain from pointing out the obvious.

-

Kairi, meanwhile, found herself doodling little caricatures all over her neatly-written English homework, and discovered that her teacher did not appreciate her newfound artistic talent.

"I'll buy you a sketchbook if you want," she said softly.

Her teacher didn't appreciate that remark, either.

-

"Hey," Sora groaned, staggering out of the classroom.  
"Hey," Riku sighed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes.  
"Hey," Kairi said, a little less cheerfully than usual.

"I thought everything was supposed to get better once we got back home," Sora whined.

"Has Naminé figured out why everyone keeps forgetting Sora?" Riku asked.

Kairi shook her head. "No, not yet."

Sora groaned again, and slumped over on Kairi, who patted his head in a motherly way.

"Let's go to the island," she suggested. "That'll cheer you up, right?"

Riku smirked, and reached over to mess up Sora's hair, causing the shorter boy to yelp in annoyance.

"At least _we_ haven't forgotten you," he pointed out.

Sora grinned reluctantly, and nodded.

-

Selphie leaned against the fence, as she waited for Tidus and Wakka to finish practice; and watched Kairi laugh with the two other boys. They looked comfortable together, like they'd known each other for years.

But maybe they had, she realized, and her eyes widened.

**

* * *

**

**author's notes:** 'anamnesis' is defined as 'recalling to memory', or 'recollection'.


End file.
